Why is there no Monday Night Football tonight?

When NFL fans go to flip their TVs to ESPN, they might be a bit surprised to see college football taking place rather than Monday Night Football. Why isn't there a Monday night game this week?

Well, it's New Year's Day and that means we get all of the College Football Playoff match-ups this evening instead. The match-up between the Michigan Wolverines and Alabama Crimson Tide takes place at 5:00 PM EST on ESPN with the game between the Washington Huskies and Texas Longhorns kicking off at 8:45 PM EST.

This is typically when Monday Night Football would be taking place but obviously, college football got the time slot for New Year's Day, as is tradition.

No Monday Night Football on New Year's Day due to College Football Playoff

Monday Night Football is finished for the regular season, as games are not held on Monday night in Week 18. All 32 teams play on Sunday in the final week of the regular season due to playoff implications and wanting to make it more dramatic.